12.31.2007

Rings

First Nation lost member Melissa Livaudais, and added Abby Portner (sister of Dave Portner) so naturally they ditched the old name and were re-christened Rings. A large step forward from their previous album, Black Habit is a loose pop amalgam that falls somewhere squarely between White Magic and what might have been had Avey Tare and Kria Brekken released their album in its forward state. The Brekken touchstone is a bit unsurprising, considering she had a producing hand in Black Habit. Wistful harmonies delve slowly into darker atmospherics with circular piano and guitar lines that give quick reason the new name, Rings. The album that will feel quite at home on Paw Tracks, with no shortage of spastic break downs and harmonized shouts of elation/frustration. Though it will be hard for the band to eek out of the shadow of their Animal Collective connections it seems that the merit of their album should help them stand alone.

12.21.2007

Well here it is, the end of 2007 and I guess that means its time to take a gaze back at the best of what perked my ears this year. It was incredibly hard to whittle down and don't think that quite a few releases got bumped in and out of the list multiple times. But after all is said and done these were the albums that either impressed me, intrigued me, or just simply wouldn't leave my playlists all year. So here it is, the list in no particular order. This will be the last post of 2007. I'm breaking for the holidays due to lack of computer access when I make my yearly trek to rural Michigan. I'll be back with many more to come in 2008!

Yeasayer - All Hour Cymbals

I've gotta say this has to be one of the best debut records I've heard in a long time. Bridging the gaps between psychedelic, world music and eighties pop is hard but hell if one band did it effortlessly it was Yeasayer. All Hour Cymbals was one of those records that I just couldn't stop playing this year and I'm glad that the band is meeting the acclaim that they deserve.

The Dark Horse in the running this year, Behold Secret Kingdom was a mass of rhythm and a flurry of squelch. Pure dark fires that burn with a welcome disorienting smoke, drums skitter and shake while howls and moans lurk in every corner. Still loving every minute of this album, chaos never sounded more inviting.

Mariee's gentle song-craft rolls like clouds before a rain, soft and ominous but with a promise of relief at every turn. Mixing her haunting voice with the native flute sounds of Gentle Thunder, her debut fulfills every promise that her sparse early demos held. The only shame of Faces in the Rocks is that more people haven't been singing its praises. If you don't have it already you really owe it to yourself to pick up a copy.

One of the great pop nuggets of the year shot out of Soft Abuse to little fanfare (sadly) but remains nonetheless one of the catchiest and most fun albums I've heard in a long time. Brewing a heavy concoction of synth pop as filtered through the glittered remains of glam; the band formerly known as The Battles prove that name changes mean nothing, great pop will survive.

White Hills came seemingly out of nowhere this year and ended up releasing two great albums on after another. Though its hard to choose between the two, Glitter Glamour Atrocity really plays up the band's ability to walk between space rock and harder territory. A swirling monster of a record that culminates in the 13+ minute romp of a title track. Gotta say even with two White Hills records out this year I'm eager for more.

All right, I have to admit I played the hell out of this record this year. After Drum's Not Dead I wasn't entirely excited about this at the time of release but the shift in sound and focus totally blew me away. Liars just quit over thinking things and went back to having fun making music. It's heavy, spacey, catchy and kicks like a boot to the lungs. I can't recommend this one highly enough.

Perfectly sun-dappled and soaked with the morning dew, Little Kingdom is a natural extension of Citay's debut, riding the same wave without sounding like they've duplicated themselves. The band again grace us with a peaceful slice of folk/rock that carves a unique piece out of the 70's rock canon. Hopefully the move from Important to Dead Oceans will garner the band a little more of the praise that they deserve.

It's hard to believe that this is only the band's second proper album but with a slew of splits and EPs that might have well been album's its not like the band was resting on its laurels. Love is Simple is everything I hoped and expected it would be. The album swings from languid vocalizations to throbbing rhythms to free jams that would make a deadhead blush. Absolutely fantastic.

No band did more to change the face of the rock record this year than Battles. Blending a bit of their former Math Rock tendencies with a dose of robotic glam, this is the future of rock defined. The fact that the band can pull off an album this ambitious live is not only a testament to their skill but an amazement to behold.

I know, I know this one's going to end up on every year end list in the universe but I gotta say the album held up surprisingly well for having been released at the beginning of the year. Noah Lennox's excursion into sampled wonderland succeeded wildly. A huge step into the sun from his mournful debut, this album is far beyond anything Lennox has produced on his own or with his brethren in the Animal Collective.

A greater collaboration couldn't have occurred this year. The pairing of Boris with Ghost's six string artisan, Michio Kurihara was a blessing that in hindsight only seems natural. The album seethes with the lifeblood of every Japanese psych album to date. And Drag City, I love ya but what the hell's with ditching the clean lined Japanese cover for a close up of a puddle. I'm sticking with the original out of stubbornness. If you haven't bought this one, you have some shopping to do.

This one fell into my lap late but I'm eternally grateful that it did. Simple melodies and repetitive vocals tiptoe around shimmering clouds of synth and exuberant fits of orchestration. The pairing with Tape only enhances the bands already shimmering sound. Tan-Tan Therapy is certainly a high point in the band's rapidly endearing catalog.

Tomlinson has crafted an ode to psychedelic folk-rock that not only emulates the feel of a dusty lost classic; it one-ups many such classics out there. The album moves from Pentangle laced folk numbers into murky eastern psychedelic workouts and into some Jansch-ian solo British folk moments; trading between acoustic and electric skill with ease. It's quite honestly one of the best British folk albums put out in the last 10-15 years.

Wow this album cannot help but get better time and time again. This is another disc that hasn't left my rotation since I stumbled upon it. Themes of death pervade the lyrics but her sour-sweet delivery makes it seem just a little less disconcerting than it probably should. Very few can mix gorgeous folk stylings with an influence of old Zelda videogame scores and sound so effortlessly haunting. This album is a necessity.

Still not as nerve damaging as their first two vinyl releases but powerful nonetheless. Wooden Shjips unleash guitar fury upon us all. With a heavy dose of distortion and and organ that swells like the tide. If their previous work lit up the California coast in a wash of flames and smoke, this album comes as a welcome storm to wash away the debris.

12.20.2007

If you're a regular reader you know I have an immense love for the vinyl format and will forever hail the necessity of 7, 10 and 12 inch singles. Here's a quick wrap up of my favorite from the Singles Club releases. Stay tuned for the top albums of the year tomorrow.

Meneguar - Bury A Flower b/w Freshman Thoughts 7"

A great single that gave way to a great album. The versions that appear here differ just slightly from the later album versions but both pack a great impact.

Featuring a great leftover from the Strawberry Jam sessions that probably wouldn't have fit in too well with the vibe of the album. However, it makes for a killer of a B-side on this single. This one popped up on the 10" version of "Peacebone" and if you didn't pick it up its probably about time you did.

Still waiting on an album from these guys but in lieu of that, this 12" single is definitely the best thing they've released to date. Riding the dark yet danceable psych vibe that has permeated much of the Social Registry catalog, this is an essential from this year.

The allegedly final recording under the Wooden Wand moniker. Scooping up the live favorite "More from the Mountain" and backing it with the deliciously easy psych of "Guru Femmes", this feels more than at home on the Woodsist label. Again if you don't have this, track it down and grab one.

Though this was absolutely a banner year for the band, this 7" released on Sub Pop was probably one of the highlights of the band's catalog. Great cover artwork and a pairing of one of the band's usual fuzz dusters with the hazy and even (sorta) pop-y "Start To Dreaming" makes this an essential purchase for the year.

The Great Pop Supplement kicks out a killer of a split between James Jackson Toth and Keith Wood. The "Swappin'" 7" is a pitch perfect performance by both parties and two of my favorite artists. Also a nice nod on the Swappin' theme in the cover art.

This 12" series by Vietnam is excellent and is really beginning to edge out their albums in the running for my favorite songs by them. A really broad perspective of the band's interests and influences, though I wish they would have finished the series within the year. Suppose I'll just have to wait for the third next year.

The lead single off of their great self-titled album boasts a b-side that's just as full of hazed fury as anything on the album. I'm loving the design feel that ties in the aesthetic of the album as well. Look for the second single from this to pop up in the singles club soon.

There were plenty of great Panda Bear singles out this year, hell pretty much the entire album became a single. Though I'd have to say that the cover of the "Good Girl/ Carrots" split with Excepter has maybe my favorite of the Agnes Montgomery artwork, "Take Pills" is a very close second. Plus I'm a big fan of the B-side off of this one, which edges it out just a little.

A great year for Pop Levi vinyl. Two 10"s and his LP which just barely eeked its way out of my top 15 albums of the year. The "Sugar Assault Me Now" 10" boasts some great B-Side alternate mixes and a bonus of color swirled vinyl. What's not to love?

12.19.2007

Chriss Sutherland

Cerberus Shoal main man Chriss Sutherland takes a nod from James Toth and goes the singer-songwriter route and quite honestly the results are wonderful. It seems that Sutherland's been sitting on the idea for a while and finally took Toth's urging to record the album. The songs smell of salt air and burnt afternoon sun, with a dusty veneer of Spanish language touching up the chorus' and subtle underpinnings of piano and banjo to round out Sutherland's spare voice and guitar. Simplicity is the tone of Me In A "Field" but just as with many of the greatest sparse records, the ability to restrain from over-embellishing things is the album's core. Sutherland's voice rings parched with experience but comfortingly assured. A storyteller crooning stories mostly to himself, but without a shred of concern that anyone else is listening. This disaffectedly assured delivery makes every tale that much more affecting. Afternoon sun on the turn downward and the dust of the day settling all around; songs of celebration, lament and truth just beginning to touch the night air.

12.18.2007

Now you can't throw a stone without hitting 16 groups that'll claim a Beatles influence today, but in the early '70s the Beatles pop hangover was slung around the necks of many bands who pursued the style with interesting results.

Octopus - Restless Night With more than their fair share of nods to the Fab Four, Octopus was a standout amongst bands perpetuating the style in the early '70's and with the exception of maybe Badfinger, few were doing it

better. Nestled sweetly between the looming cloud of psychedelia that was leftover from the late '60s and the oncoming onslaught of prog, this record dabbles much more in melody than complexity and is all the better for not getting sucked too far into the coming trends of the period. Why the band didn't get the attention they surely deserved, I can't say but Essex records has thankfully rescued it from total obscurity with a much deserved reissue.

Truck - Surprise SurpriseIt seems that no corner of the globe could escape the cultural thunderclap of the Beatles, turning up interesting results in locales as obscure as Malaysia. Truck's sole album is a melodic pop concoction with strikingly clear production and

English vocals. This easily could have passed for a band from the states if you didn't know better. The band do seem to delve into an emerging use of keyboards, having been released in '74 but the "modern" edge doesn't distract from what is at its core a wonderfully melodic and lush album.

12.17.2007

Quinn Walker

With a few exceptions I've been a consistent fan of Voodoo-Eros. They don't always release a ton of records but what they do usually makes me perk up an ear. This is certainly true of Quinn Walker, the latest wayward traveler to grace their stable. Serving up a double disc as a debut is both presumptuous and wholly ballsy at the same time. To think that people would take the time to wade through not one but two discs of an artist that you're for the most part unfamiliar with takes quite a bit of latter day gumption. Luckily Walker he's got the writing skills to back up any such wild notions of grandeur. Both Laughter's An Asshole and Lion Land boast full collections of lush psych pop loaded with layered harmonies, street corner theatrics and the modern eccentricities that have become an indie staple (read: the children of The Animal Collective are growing stronger by the minute). Though Mr. Walker may well have more in common with AC's kindred spirit Ariel Pink, if Pink would stop sun baking his demo reels and turning them in junk drawer mix tapes. This one's coming up against some heavy releases this January but I fully expect quite a few people to nab this one up for the gem it is.

not necessarily their aesthetic. I'm wholly unshocked to see the band continue their love for native cultures and truthfully the acoustic setting makes for some of the most heartfelt offerings from the band to date. The A side has a sprightly renaissance feel to it while the B side takes a moody downturn into orchestral crooning; falling just shy of a Tom Waits 3 a.m. bar ballad.

Blood on the Wall

Ok so up front there's the fact that Blood on the Wall sound like every 90's band you ever loved and yeah you could just write that off to being derivative. But here's the catch, they do it so well that you find yourself digging back through those 90's records and not being able to find just the right one that they seem to have gotten lodged in your head. This is simply because they've distilled the decade down to its sloppy, fun, rock hard freakin' core. Between this and Awesomer they've produced two of the 90's best records, they uh...just didn't do it in the 90's. Liferz is ragged and fizzy, turbulent and catchy. This is an open hearted ode to baggy band shirts and pent up bedroom sing-a-longs. Hey this isn't going to displace any of your Pavement of Pixies records from your heart just yet but it's certainly going to make you bop your head and move your feet. This one jumps onto the shelves January 22nd. Keep an eye out.

12.13.2007

Growing

It seems strange to pop on a Growing album and not feel a solid wave of bass hit me, rumbling the floorboards and generally annoying every neighbor that borders my apartment. Instead it looks like the band is mining similar creative territory as Black Dice's latest, all buzz and warbles with an emphasis on knob twiddled touches and distorted loops. The move to The Social Registry may have given the band a new creative lease as they release both this mini-album, Lateral in February and contribute a 7" to the label's excellent Social Club series. Whatever the reason for the change in dynamics its produced some interesting, if brief results. The 'mini-album' certainly clocks in as some of the shorter Growing songs but steeped in stuttered electrics and a bit of atmospheric shimmer the short tracks really leave you wanting more from the band.

12.12.2007

Evan Miller

Evan Miller's Three Spells for Six String Guitar is a gorgeous fingerpicked workout rooted in the American folk blues of the Takoma label. Dusted lonesome delivery and somber tones emanate from this bedroom recorded cassette that's just a start to what Miller might accomplish. His playing echoes the new acoustic heroes like Blackshaw and to a lesser extent Rose. With his roots in Oklahoma you can feel the expansive landscapes rolling by car windows and clouded night skies in each rusted tumble of the strings. This release is short (3 songs naturally) but still manages to express as much talent and emotion as many other players would pack into a full album. Night People strike again with this find.

12.11.2007

More great debris from times lost to the psychedelic ether. A heavy dose of pop-psych up on the jukebox today, showing that everybody was dipping their toes into the hazy waters at some time or another.

[MP3] H.P. Lovecraft - Mobius TripA languid folk-prog styled psych romp from the band's second album. Keys bubble and rock underneath the dual harmony vocals and strident folk strum that was one of the band's touchstones. A nice use of vocal effects that don't cross over into the cheesy psych territory.

[MP3] Les Baroques - Love Is The SunEcho-y vocals and light pop touches mar this ode to love and sunshine, with a faint West Coast flair. A nice bit of pop silliness that dabbles in the late 60's trappings of psychedelia.

[MP3] Kim Fowley - Strangers From the SkyThis track is totally an example of psychsploitation. Though Fowley was friends with the Mothers of Invention and later became a successful 60's producer, this one off psych track was borderline ridiculous. Touching on themes of space exploration it wanders off into some crazy spoken word passages and has some heavy heavy use of needless effects, but its entertaining for its camp value alone.

[MP3] Meic Stevens - Y Brawd HoudiniStevens is often considered the Welsh language Dylan or Syd Barrett and though those two songwriters don't always meet common ground, Stevens really could reside right in the middle of the two styles. It's easy to see why Stevens is loved by artists such as Gruff Rhys, simple harmonies and sing-a-long catchiness (if you know Welsh I guess) pervade his music. This is so much fun it borders on children's music, but stays just shy of any tweeness that would kill the vibe.

[MP3] The Next Exit - Break AwayA vocal heavy dose of pop-psych with driving rhythm and some nicely placed effects on the chorus. A swing of organ flows through the track, stabbing nicely over the tumbling bass. A great song about leaving family behind.

12.10.2007

Shameless Self Promotion

Well not to use this forum for anything too much outside of its intended function but since the Re-released and Jukebox features seem so popular I figure I'll give you a heads up. If you're in the NYC area on Friday come on out to The Fix, located behind Sound Fix Records on Bedford in Williamsburg and hear me DJ a whole passle of psych and garage classics. DJing starts at 11:30. Hope to see you there!

Boris with Merzbow

Boris take the Japanese master of static on tour and prove that live they can crush your brain just as, if not more easily. Rock Dream scoops up a healthy run of new Boris favorites and even stretches back a bit to some older favorites from the Akuma No Uta era. The band tear through quite a few from Pink(including many from the vinyl versions) and even include some of their fine split with Michio Kurihara, though disappointingly they include neither "Walrus" nor "Groon" from their recent split with Merzbow despite him being included in the tour. Though the fuzz wrangler is not entirely superfluous, he does lend some nice electronic wizardry on a few tracks, notably some of the live excursions that tip the clock in the ludicrously long direction. The lengthy jams are laudatory, but its actually much of the material from Pink and the inclusion of "Ibitsu" from Akuma No Uta that really show the band having fun and make this an essential release. The double disc collection is limited to 5000 worldwide and hand numbered and there's certainly no skimpin' on the die cut packaging so If I were you, I'd pick one up soon.

12.07.2007

Coal Beautiere

From the amazingly bountiful region in and around Nevada City, CA comes yet another achingly beautiful folk enchantress. Though their compatriots Alela Diane and to a lesser extent(sadly) Mariee Sioux have garnered more attention, the wonderful duo of Adrienne Spring Beatty and Arthur Harold Echternacht IV have crafted a bittersweet batch of folk-pop trysts. At once lush and yet wholly unfettered, their songs are doused in Adrienne's enveloping voice; while underneath a somber pianos weep quietly, then louder until a choir of background vocals answer their call in soothing tones of remorse and comfort. Again I have to kick myself for residing on the wrong corner of the country to see such great works performed in the live setting. This has turned into a banner year for beautiful folk tinged pop, and Fight Your Broken Heart and Fly will slot itself in right along side those gems already laid on us by Mariee Sioux and Orion Rigel Domiesse.

12.06.2007

Tenniscoats

A truly wondrous release from Tenniscoats out on Sweden's inimitable Hapna records. Tenniscoats set to work like wide-eyed children at play in a room full of instruments; though I must say that they would have to be extremely musically inclined children. Simple melodies and repetitive vocals tiptoe around shimmering clouds of synth and exuberant fits of orchestration. Joined by Swedish electronic whiz kids and Hapna alum Tape, the duo gush and twirl their subdued melodies in a bath of electro-classical ephemera. Though Saya's vocals come across as delicate, they never cross the line into overly cutesy territory, she instead rides a balance of innocence and breathy beauty that compliments the menagerie of instruments that flit below her. Tenniscoats have formerly been known to meld folk and Japanese electronics but with the addition of Tape it seems that the duo have really found their niche in exposing the pulsating beauty that seems to float all around them. Tan-Tan Therapy is certainly a high point in the bands rapidly endearing catalog.

12.05.2007

Jackie-O Motherfucker

The first new recording from JOMF since 2005 showcases both the band's tendency to indulge in long form jams and their ability to craft potent psych-wrangled folk. With the help of White Rainbow's Adam Forkner and Inca Ore Valley of Fire is classic JOMF at its best. For the most part the record languishes in the calm, beautiful moments, even going so far as to include a cover of a Beach Boys tune (Jackie-O and the Beach Boys together at last?!). The album's title track is a straightforward folk track that bubbles with subtle cosmic touches while the album opener "Sing Your Own Song" weaves street preacher theatrics into the band's nest of calm and tempered strums. The theme darkens on the side-long journey that is "We Are," a fierce, tumbling exploration of the lower cosmos. Valley of Fire finds its way into the world via Textile Records and if you act fast you should be able to weasel yourself a copy of the Japanese version with a bonus track.

A couple of worthy tidbits that have floated onto my computer as of late.

First off this great EP from Fuck Buttons, who've garnered a bit of press for having been confirmed for the Pitchfork curated ATP and who's Bright Tomorrow 7" has caught the ear of a few sources out there. This ep moves the duo into a bit more

solid territory, with both the tracks jutting out over the 8 minute mark. A great clash of styles; lucid droney electronics smashing headlong into fits of screaming and restrained chaos. The pair certainly show promise once they get a few more releases under their belt. No word on a full length just yet but it seems destined in the future.

Matador's got some confirmed release dates, art and samples for two RSTB anticipated releases. The first being Dead Meadow's follow-up to Feathers, which took the band into much lusher sonic territory. From the sound of the first peek at

Old Growth it looks like some of the shoegazy mist may have burnt off, but only to be replaced by a very classic and world-weary sound. "What Needs Must Be" is caked in road dust and strained thorough van windows. Really looking forward to hearing the rest of this album. Old Growth is out February 5th.

Next up Matador grabs a gem out of Siltbreeze's roster in the form of Times New Viking. Admittedly I caught wind of their SB album a bit late but was definitely won over by it quickly, though I am a bit surprised that it reached such mass appeal.

Some people can't always see the gems beneath the grit and I guess in this case Matador just had the right kinda ears. The new album seems, at least from the sound of this double shot from the upcoming Rip It Off, to be another struggle between melody and the limitations of tape fidelity. Fuzz caked and beautiful, I'm glad to see some of Roland's stable getting their due. Rip It Off is out January 22nd.

12.04.2007

Two breezy gems filled with that sunny California feeling. One a country rock hidden treasure with and interesting instrumental twist and the other a lost folk angel who's debut never really hit the big time.

Michaelangelo- One Voice Many Though it was released in the early 70's, Michaelangelo's sole album shares much more in common with the carefree country-psych that the West Coast scene was churning out a few years earlier. Most of the songs feature the added quirk of Autoharp

used in the fashion of rhythm guitar, giving it a certain distinct flair. A very breezy afternoon type of album with little strife and a bevy of great male and female vocals. This album may have missed its window, a release a few years earlier may have pushed this into more of a classic status. Even with major label backing from Columbia this gathered dust and was shelved until its recent reissue. Definitely one that deserved to be spared a long lost fate.

Michele - Saturn RingsMichele O'Mally's roots lie in good company, doing time in Curt Boettcher's Ballroom, and backing up Tommy Roe and Sagittarius. And though Curt's hand is all over Saturn Rings this album became even more lost than his other projects. A

soaring folk vocal album with lush instrumentation that crosses nicely into the fringes of psychedelia and is unblushingly heartfelt. O'Mally's voice is strong and though brief, her push out of the background and into the spotlight was well warranted. However, just as with many albums of this and any other period circumstances can get the best of any performer. Luckily those with the right kind of ears always find the gems amongst the rubble, and Michele was rescued from obscurity this year.

12.03.2007

The Hidden Twin

Recorded at home in the respite between touring and work in Modey Lemon, Phil Boyd has crafted a superb solo record that show's a strong divergent side to the songwriter. Driving away from Modey Lemon's bombast and 60's garage snarl, Boyd instead taps the other side of the 60's opting for the stark trappings of the loner folk vibe. Not wallowing in sentimentality but steering just clear of bleak; tones of restless roots and vagabond charm anchor a troubadour singer-songwriter with a head for harmony. Gone is the skuzzed rasp of Modey Lemon and instead Boyd's voice rings with hushed confidence and a twinge of urgency. Asleep in the Valley is spotted with trail dust and wrung in afternoon sweat. A haunting vision from the road and at the same time a bittersweet vision of American life. On songs like "Thirteen Miners" and "The Ballad of Eliza Downe" Boyd's tales are draped in the kind of American Grit that has long left most folk today. The impact hits harder through his lilting delivery that gives each story an eeriness that would have turned to bravado in a lesser hand. A pleasant surprise and not at all what I was expecting from a Modey Lemon side project.